Rio

[user1465146157]

Hello
Has anyone been to Rio with children before?
Would love any advice or thoughts - things to do, safety, vaccinations - would you recommend it?

thanks in advance!

I spent five nights there and then flew to Iguassa and stayed on the Argentine side with my DC who were about 10/11 and 12/13 at the time. We had a great trip.
We didn’t have any vaccinations. In Rio we went to Sugar Loaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer, took a jeep trip into the rainforest (booked through Viator), Copacabana and the fort there, Botanical Gardens. We also had a few half days on the beautiful beaches which we enjoyed. You hire special reclining chairs and then you pay for cold drinks etc. My DC enjoyed playing football on the beaches with the local DC.
The scenery is stunning, we went one Easter and the weather was good for sightseeing.
We went out each evening to different restaurants and we always felt safe, we didn’t really do anything particularly unsafe or go off the beaten track. We stayed in the Leblon area.
After we flew to Iguassa and had another little adventure.

It’s safe as long as you stick to the tourist areas. Hotels can advise. We stayed just off Copacabana but Ipanema is nice. Choose a hotel with a pool if you go in our winter. We did the usual sightseeing but it’s not a city I really love. We toured around and preferred other areas in Brazil. It would be ok for children but what ages?

I don't have any children but I asked a similar question about a year ago on here!

I absolutely loved Rio. DH and I stayed in Fairmont Copacabana which was really central to the beach and Ipanema Beach. We went to Christ Redeemer, the botanical gardens, Saúde (where samba was founded), the Museum of the Future, Santa Teresa, Sugar Loaf Mountain and other things! I thoroughly enjoyed it and surprisingly had less hassle in Rio than I did in Lisbon DH's sunglasses were stolen from his shirt in broad daylight in a touristy area and I felt very safe in Rio during the day and night.

I didn't have any vaccinations to go (except my covid jab) and I would love to visit again.

@Kualma
Thats about where we went plus the Maracana Stadium tour. These are all safe tourist areas. Not challenging at all. However once you have done these world class tourist areas, what else? Most people move on. It’s not a city with world class museums, palaces etc.

@TizerorFizz it depends what you’re into. I can think of a couple of museums/attractions that I didn’t visit during my week there. I don’t think it’s somewhere I’d visit yearly however it’s definitely worthwhile to visit

I would never say it’s not worthwhile but its not a great city in a sense of lots and lots to see and do. It’s where holidays tend to start, so of course you stay for a few days. A week would be too long unless you just take it easy on the beach or around a pool. However it’s a great starting point for touring other areas. Which are amazing!

My five nights and five days was a good length, we didn’t treat it just like a city break. I loved the scenery, cities with mountains and the sea are my thing.